El
Salvador offers the three key ingredients necessary for making,
what many would call, the best cup of coffee in the world: high
altitude, rich volcanic soil, and a climate that is the perfect
combination of rain and sun. For more than 50 years, Omoma Coffee,
a company rich in family tradition and excellence in coffee production,
has enjoyed well-deserved recognition for their superior coffee.

Based
in El Salvador, Omoma Coffee achieved much international success
while supplying its green beans to some of the largest coffee companies
in the world, including Illy and Nestle Europe. In early 2006, with
the palate of the US market primed with sophistication, a sales
and distribution division was launched in the United States. With
family members at the helm, Omoma Coffee’s US presence was
now under the direction of the newly formed Araten-Castillo Distribution,
LLC.

“People
in the US were ready,” said Jennifer Araten-Castillo, Co-Owner
of Omoma Coffee’s US distributor. “They were educated
about coffee, they had refined tastes, and they were excited to
try different coffees from different regions of the world. Coffee
lovers were treating coffee like wine. The time was right,”
she added.

The
right combination of climate and volcanic earth will undoubtedly
breed a high quality coffee, but what makes Omoma Coffee so superior?
Clearly, it is the special, indigenous hybrid beans called Pacamara
that makes Omoma Coffee so outstanding.

Derived
from a hybrid Arábica coffee tree developed by the Salvadorean
Coffee Research Institute (ISIC) in the late 1950s, Pacamara beans
produce a superior coffee. This special and rare coffee bean is
a unique marriage of the famous "Maragogype" Arábica
and "Pacas", a Salvadorean high yielding mutation of the
Arábica hybrid "San Ramón Bourbon". Discovered
in 1956 by two of the most prominent coffee producers of El Salvador,
Don Alberto Pacas and Don Francisco De Sola with the help of Dr.
William Cogwill of the University of Florida, the world famous Pacamara
(strictly high grown) bean is the staple of Omoma Coffee's blend.
Known for its bold yet well-balanced flavor, Omoma proudly offered
the US market the first roasted version of the Pacamara beans and
received immediate attention from coffee lovers around the country.

The
meaning of the word omoma can be traced back to a time in El Salvador’s
history that pre-dates the Spanish conquest. Omoma is a native word
derived from the Lenca Tribe, one of the native Indian cultures
that lived in Central America. History reports that the name Omoma
was given to the Lenca settlement, a settlement situated on the
Cacahuatique Mountain and governed by a tribal leader named Omomatzitl.
When the Spanish arrived they renamed the Empire of Omoma to Ciudad
Barrios honoring the Spanish General Gerardo Barrios who brought
coffee plants to the land in 1835 and built the first coffee mill
in El Salvador. More than 50 years ago, the Portillo family named
their fincas (coffee plantations) Omoma, a name which honors the
cultural significance of the land and the history of its people.

Today,
the family business has grown and expanded but not at the expense
of quality. Omoma Coffee proudly offers the US market their outstanding
coffee in three varieties:

American
(Medium) – robust and well-balanced roast, the perfect
blend to please even the most discerning taste buds.European (Dark) – a rich full-bodied yet smooth coffee
– the company’s bestseller.Espresso – the ultimate in decadence, rich taste with
a depth of flavors.

Modestly
priced at $12.99 for a one-pound bag ($7.49 for a half-pound bag),
the 100% Arabica coffee is offered whole bean or ground. Omoma Coffee
is grown, picked, roasted and packaged in El Salvador adhering to
the same high production standards that resulted in international
acclaim. Omoma Coffee is distributed in the US by Araten-Castillo
Distribution, LLC.

For
a limited time, you can get free shipping on orders over $35. Gift
baskets and gift certificates are also available online. www.OmomaCoffee.com.

As
cultural influences from Asia continue to influence Western palates
and the cocktail culture expands to include exotic herbs and interesting
new flavors, a distinctive, new spirit is making its mark. ZEN™
Green Tea Liqueur, a unique blend of the finest Japanese green tea
leaves, premium herbs and natural flavors is the first super-premium
green tea liqueur ever introduced in America.

The
fresh and original taste of ZEN Green Tea Liqueur, which is primarily
derived from the ceremonial Japanese Green Tea, results from the
use of the finest ingredients available. The perfection of the final
product is the result of time-honored Japanese traditions of quality
and craftsmanship combined with a modern sense of elegance and style.

ZEN
is primed to meet the growing demand of today’s sophisticated
cocktail culture –consumers who have enjoyed a few cosmos
or apple martinis but are searching for the next cool cocktail concoction.
ZEN draws you in with its distinctive green color, unique flavor
and pleasing aroma that stands up well chilled straight, on the
rocks, or mixed. With an alcohol content of 20 percent, ZEN Green
Tea Liqueur is light and refreshing. Some of New York City’s
top bartenders have developed ZEN cocktail recipes, included among
them: the ZENtini (a twist on the martini) and the ZENito (a twist
on the mojito).

ZEN uses carefully selected Kyoto green tea leaves of the highest
grade grown by one of the most famous producers of fine teas in
Japan, Marukyu-Koyama-En, which has been cultivating tea for more
than 300 years. Infusing neutral spirits with whole and ground green
tea leaves, ZEN is then blended with lemongrass and other herbs
and natural flavors according to a propriety recipe to achieve its
unique flavor.

The
introduction of ZEN marks the creation of a new spirits category
in the U.S. “Green tea is one of the fastest-growing drinks
in America today,” said Shin Adachi, Vice President, Sales
and Marketing, Suntory International Corp. In recent years, green
tea has crossed over from “Asian specialty” to the mainstream,
with green tea products from soft drinks and ice cream to chewing
gum. Suntory has already been marketing several green tea liqueurs
in Japan, but developed ZEN especially for the U.S. market and tailored
it to suit the American palate.

ZEN
is stylishly packaged in a tall, elegant 750ml bottles priced at
around $29.99. For more information and more great recipes visit:
www.zenliqueur.com

Perhaps,
in an effort to match their willingness to pay a premium price
for superior quality coffee, many of today’s discerning
coffee drinkers also want to know their coffee’s country
of origin—some going as far as inquiring about a particular
region or grower’s co-op. These consumers are also inquiring
about and insisting on fair trade coffee.

Fair
Trade, as defined by the Fair Trade Federation, is a system
of exchange that seeks to create greater equity and partnership
in the international trading system by paying fair wages in
local context; supporting participatory workplaces; ensuring
environmental sustainability; supplying financial and technical
support; offering public accountability, respecting cultural
identity; building direct and long-term relationships; and educating
consumers.

“From
the coffee grower’s side of the business, great strides
are being made,” said Martin Kabaki, VP Operations at
the Coffee Growers Alliance Company. “The growers are
getting to visit foreign markets where their coffee is sold,
attend global coffee conferences, visit coffee roasting plants
to observe how their coffee is roasted, and meet the end consumer.
They are also learning about fluctuations of the coffee commodity,”
he added. “In Uganda, for example, commodity fluctuations
are relayed from the New York Board of Trade to the growers
who had, until recently, been secluded within the fence posts
of their coffee farms” said Kabaki.

Mr.
Kabaki often relays this story in strong support of the Coffee
Growers Alliance Company (Jacksonville, FL), a company he helped
form in 2004. “A group of coffee growers from Kenya
came to Seattle, WA for a coffee conference and quickly noticed
that a pound of Kenya AA, a product of their own farm, was selling
for $16.00 a pound. After some quick math and some currency
conversion, they realized that when they deliver the same one
pound of coffee to their local processing mill they got paid
a measly 16 cents!”

The
group from Kenya realized that the only way to cut off the middlemen
would be to attempt to gain full control, where possible, of
their crop from “seed to cup”. This is the platform
on which the Coffee Growers Alliance Company (www.growersalliance.com)
was built. This unique company is registered in the USA as a
female and minority owned company and is managed by actual coffee
growers from Kenya.

Growers
Alliance Coffee Company is owned by a co-op of the actual coffee
growers who supply coffee to the US. This unique situation offers
benefits to both the coffee farmers and the end-consumers.

Farmers
get financial reward: For every bag that the Coffee
Growers Alliance sells, part of the profit is donated back directly
to the coffee growers. These finances will help to improve the
farmers’ standard of living and to help fund improvement
projects, including plumbing, electricity, and housing.

Consumers
get superior coffee: The Coffee Growers Alliance Company
will only sell straight origin (unblended), gourmet quality
coffee making certain that the coffee experience represents
the true aroma and taste of the particular country of origin.

Currently,
the Alliance offers coffee from Kenya, Ethiopia, Guatemala,
and Costa Rica. Plans are moving forward to expand the current
offerings to include coffee from Papua New Guinea, El Salvador,
Rwanda, Malawi, Indonesia, and other exciting lands. The Growers
Alliance Coffee Company also has preliminary plans to open a
coffeehouse chain where the shareholders will be coffee growers.
Most of the coffees are sold through their online store at www.growersalliance.com.
The coffee is sold online in 12oz bags (ground or bean) for
$9.99.

-Francine
Segan's World of Tasting-
Honey: History and Gourmet Tasting

Join
food historian and expert Francine Segan as she journeys through
the delicious past and present of our favorite foods! Programs
include rich histories and delicious tastings.

Explore
the fascinating history and many distinct flavors of honey in
this unique tasting. Learn to differentiate the sublime flavors
of a dozen types of honey, including French lavender, blueberry
blossom, Hawaiian honey with tones of butterscotch and vanilla
and the famed tupelo honey, which comes from a flower of southern
Georgia.

Coffee
drinkers have begun congregating at the cafe from heaven, where
non-alcoholic drinks can be paid for with a prayer.

At
the newly opened Jedro Café in the capital city of Zagreb,
Croatia, patrons need only to say four Our Fathers for a cappuccino
or five Hail Marys for a cola. The shop is run and financed by
local parish authorities in Zagreb's Jarun district. “We
started with five tables but so many people came that we are already
up to 20,” said a spokesman for the Café. www.metro.co.uk